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4.63 AVERAGE
4.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the most emotional and best endings to a fantasy series that I have ever read.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
3.5
I wish I could like this book more than I do. At its core, Speaking Bones tells a great story and concludes the series with a very coherent and satisfactory ending. While it didn't have the most spectacular action sequences, the tale of the Dandelion Dynasty was concluded in an impressively intelligent, beautifully emotional and melancholically bittersweet way.
However, I couldn't help but feel exhausted through several stretches of this 1000 page / 40 hour (audio)book. Ken Liu has the tendency to get sidetracked ** a lot **. Throughout a lot of the series I quite enjoyed it when we diverted from the story to explore subplots, backstories and lore dumps for whole chapters. This adds to the rich worldbuilding and makes the world it feel alive.
But I do expect the story to fall back into focus and concentrate on the core plot when we are moving towards the climax of the penultimate book, even moreso in the final quarter of the final book. The Veiled Throne had that certain storyline at the end, and Speaking Bones feels like it never fully commits to focus on what truly matters.
I often felt a certain impatience when Liu forced me through another history lesson about how Dara logograms are structured while we are two chapters away from finishing the series. Even Malazan, arguably one of the most sprawling and expansive fantasy series you can read, knew when to drop the diversions and get to the point.
This heavily diminished my enjoyment of the book throught my time with it.
Unfortunately Speaking Bones stands as my least favorite book of the four. I seem to be lonely with that opinion since it is the highest rated on Goodreads (4.57/5).
I wish I could like this book more than I do. At its core, Speaking Bones tells a great story and concludes the series with a very coherent and satisfactory ending. While it didn't have the most spectacular action sequences, the tale of the Dandelion Dynasty was concluded in an impressively intelligent, beautifully emotional and melancholically bittersweet way.
However, I couldn't help but feel exhausted through several stretches of this 1000 page / 40 hour (audio)book. Ken Liu has the tendency to get sidetracked ** a lot **. Throughout a lot of the series I quite enjoyed it when we diverted from the story to explore subplots, backstories and lore dumps for whole chapters. This adds to the rich worldbuilding and makes the world it feel alive.
But I do expect the story to fall back into focus and concentrate on the core plot when we are moving towards the climax of the penultimate book, even moreso in the final quarter of the final book. The Veiled Throne had that certain storyline at the end, and Speaking Bones feels like it never fully commits to focus on what truly matters.
I often felt a certain impatience when Liu forced me through another history lesson about how Dara logograms are structured while we are two chapters away from finishing the series. Even Malazan, arguably one of the most sprawling and expansive fantasy series you can read, knew when to drop the diversions and get to the point.
This heavily diminished my enjoyment of the book throught my time with it.
Unfortunately Speaking Bones stands as my least favorite book of the four. I seem to be lonely with that opinion since it is the highest rated on Goodreads (4.57/5).
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of my favorite books of all time.
One of my favorite series of all time
RTC
One of my favorite series of all time
RTC
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What an amazing conclusion to what has become one of my favorite series off all time.
It read a bit slower than The Veiled Throne but I didn't mind as I never wanted the book to end. Nothing felt rushed and all the tethers weaved through this saga was tied together so brilliantly. I am going to miss these characters. I love that justice did not always prevail, just like life.
More books please Ken Liu!!!
It read a bit slower than The Veiled Throne but I didn't mind as I never wanted the book to end. Nothing felt rushed and all the tethers weaved through this saga was tied together so brilliantly. I am going to miss these characters. I love that justice did not always prevail, just like life.
More books please Ken Liu!!!
fast-paced